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Joined: Dec. 2019
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Rielly is essentially a rental while Kreider at $6m is a fair and reasonable deal that has term on it which means it will be a better and better deal as time goes on (assuming Kreider gels with either of the dynamic duos the Leafs have in their "big 4" that he gets lined up with) is speed and especially his size are what the Leafs need on the left side very desperately.
The Leafs won't be able to fit Rielly into their cap situation unless he takes a bridge deal/significant underpay short term. The $6.5m NYR frees up beyond this year allows them to sign Fox to the big deal he is destined to get. The other RFAs the Rangers have are due for raises but not significant ones - they may be able to get Rielly to fit under the cap as they have much more room than Toronto does - all depends on what they do with Nemeth/Lindgren/Kravtsov this year/summer off season.
Plus, Krieder on the 3rd line makes extremely little sense when you can add a top 10 (top 15 for sure) LD in the league, especially when the LD on the roster currently is at best, just OK to decent. Rielly with Trouba would be a great top 4 pairing, and Miller with Fox would be another one. That is elite level top 4 in the league.